Between Us Mothers
by teabooksengland
Summary: In which an emergency doctor and a flight nurse are forced to take drastic measures. Or, as they say: if duty calls, one has to answer.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's notes:** Hello, everyone! I'm new on here, so I sincerely hope I did it right with the layout and all. I've been obsessed with Code Blue and the relationship of Aizawa and Shiraishi for the last few months and I finally decided to let my obsession run free with this fiction of mine.  
 **Warning:** I rated the story T because there is going to be some **detailed medical description, including surgery.**

I hope you enjoy!

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" _The greatest heroes are those who do their duty in the daily grind of domestic affairs whilst the world whirls as a maddening dreidel."_ – Florence Nightingale

"I feel like a giant walrus.", exclaimed Saejima while leaning back in the comfortable chair she was sitting on. She affectionately stroked her huge belly.

Shiraishi smiled consolatory. The flight nurse was about 8 months pregnant, and had been blessed with a particular tall baby growing inside of her. Although Saejima herself was a tall woman (even taller than her husband, a topic that did not seem to be a problem at all, although Fujikawa reacted very sensitive to the mention of it), she seemed to vanish behind the baby bump of hers. Shiraishi tried to take another sip of her tea, but when she approached the glass towards the direction of her nose and smelled the slightly bitter odour of the beverage, she coughed and put it away instantly. Saejima shot her a glance, and they both chuckled, ignoring the startled glances of the other customers in the restaurant.

They still couldn't quite believe it. Shiraishi and Aizawa, along with the whole staff of Lifesaving had been quite astoundished when Saejima and Fujikawa announced to be pregnant. On one hand, because Fujikawa managed to hold his mouth shut although he had known it for three weeks already, and on the other hand because Shiraishi had told Aizawa a week earlier that he was going to be a father.

Now, Saejima being in her 30th week of pregnancy, having constant back aches while working and being very careful because of her miscarriage when she was first pregnant, had taken her maternity leave two weeks ago. Shiraishi, though still in the 24th week of pregnancy, had to take an early maternity leave because of hyperemesis gravidarum. She was strongly against it, but after nearly fainting in the emergency, having a semi-severe dehydration and losing weight, both Aizawa and Tachibana had had enough and ordered her to stay at home for the time being.  
Lifesaving was permanently shocked that two female staff members took their leave, but Tachibana managed to add two temporar replacements to the team, and thus, Lifesaving has been saved. At least, that's what Saejima and Shiraishi hoped.

"I think it was a good idea to leave the house for once.", said Shiraishi.

Saejima nodded. "I'm glad you invited me. Though, providing that you suffer from HG, I don't think the idea to have dinner was very thoughtful.", she responded, shooting a glance at the female doctor's almost full plate. The latter smiled apologetically.

"You're right, that was not the best I could come up with." Frankly, Shiraishi had not really cared about the meal when she asked Saejima. More importantly, she really wanted to spend time with her. In her eyes, it had been some sort of revelation when she started to meet up with Saejima privately on a daily basis. It wasn't that she didn't like Saejima. At work, Saejima could be very terrifing, especially her signature smile, and her mood swings in the beginning of her pregnancy as well as in the weeks before her leave had contributed to that.  
But since Shiraishi had made her pregnancy official and had been yelling at the fellows in one second, crying about it in the next, which made the fellows very confused, she had found an unexpected ally in the flight nurse. Whom she could talk to about back aches, urinary incontinence and most importantly annoying husbands. She missed human contact while she was on her leave, even more when her husband had to take the night shift like tonight. Given that Fujikawa had to work today too, and Saejima being in a similar situation as Shiraishi, she had looked forward to spend some time with her friend, and it didn't matter what they did together.

Saejima observed how Shiraishi pushed her meal away from her with a disgusted grimace on her face. She had only eaten some of the vegetables on the plate, but it was better than nothing at all, thought Saejima. She signed a waiter.

"We would like to have the bill please. And could you please pack the meal of my friend? She'll eat it later." Shiraishi opened her mouth to speak, but glancing at her friend, she immediately shut it again.

"I think, I would love to go for a walk. What about you?", said Saejima as they left the restaurant. Shiraishi held her nose in the air and closed her eyes. The cool breeze of autumn passed her nostrils, fresh, smelling of rain, and she didn't feel nauseous anymore.

"Yes, me too." They walked down an alley of trees until they reached a dark park near the restaurant, only enlighted by the bright moon and the street lamps around them. It was idyllic and the silence soothed their slightly dizzy heads as they both still had been busy throughout the day. Who knew one could invest so much time in daily household chores? They were quite for a moment, before Shiraishi spoke again. "Fujikawa-sensei has the night shift, huh?"

"Yes."

"Is he alone?"

Saejima thought about it for a second. "No, I think Haitani-sensei is on duty too. Yokomine-san is working too."

"Ah, I see."

"What about Aizawa-sensei? I thought he wanted to swap all his night shifts with his colleagues for the time being?"

"Yes, but Shinkai-sensei called him today since he is sick. There was no one who could take the night shift either, so he had to go."

Saejima nodded. She already had received a frantic message from Fujikawa, who told her that Aizawa was in one of the worst moods he could display, a message she deliberately ignored. She understood that the neurosurgeon was worried about his wife, although he would never tell that to Saejima or Fujikawa.

"I wonder how they're doing back at Lifesaving.", Shiraishi pondered. Saejima laughed.

"You never change, do you? Always thinking about Lifesaving. Let this matter rest in the capable hands of Tachibana, he knows what he is doing. Didn't he say you should try to relax and enjoy your maternity leave?"

"I'm not worried about the organisation, I'm worried about the fellows. Haitani is a good doctor, but flinches at any emotional pressure. Yokomine is intelligent but acts like a daydreaming high schooler sixty percent of the day, and Natori would be very good, if he wouldn't be so full of himself and wouldn't try to maintain his poker face."

"Don't worry about it. There are other seniors in Livesaving that can support them, and Kazuo promised me to look well after them." Fujikawa had been named temporar staff leader, and honestly, Saejima thought, he was doing a good job.

They sat down on one of the benches and leaned back, enjoying the wind ruffling their hair. Saejima sighed relaxed, stretching out her tired legs and giving them a good rest.

"But I understand." Saejima continued. "Yukimura is a good nurse, very capable, and she aspires to become the best. But I constantly think about what I would be doing at this kind of hour, what kind of chores I would have made today, but I must leave them to Yukimura, and it puts me off, thinking about that. I guess I am as much of a control freak as you, Shiraishi."

Shiraishi smiled and nodded. As they sat there, they heard the siren of an ambulance nearby, disturbing the peace and quite of the evening. Shohoku was no less than a five minute drive away. Both women couldn't help but to think about Lifesaving again, reminiscing about the emergency room, the operation theatre, the ICU, everything they would do right now, wouldn't they be on leave.

"Oh!", Saejima suddenly exclaimed. "I forgot to ask you this whole week, what is it going to be?"

Shiraishi turned towards her. "Eh?"

"Your baby. Do you know what it is going to be?"

Shiraishi thought about it for a moment. When Aizawa and her had found out, they had agreed to keep it to themselves for a while. But then she had taken her leave, Aizawa had had to work overtime since the Neurosurgery was also understaffed, and they sort of forgot to tell anyone. She was not sure how Aizawa would feel about it, but she guessed that he would be okay with her telling it to Saejima.  
Her train of thoughts was suddenly disrupted by her phone ringing. Frowning, she took it out of her coat pocket and frowned even more when she saw the ID. Haitani.

"Haitani-sensei?", she answered concerned. Saejima raised her eyebrows, pondering whether something bad has happened at the hospital.

"S-Shiraishi-sensei! I'm so sorry to call you at this late hour, in fact, I'm sorry to call you on your leave, I'm – "

"Calm down. Take a deep breath. What is wrong?"

Haitani didn't say a word for a few seconds, and Shiraishi wanted to speak again, when he said. "The ambulance brought a young woman into the emergency in her 36th week of pregnancy, increased blood pressure, dizziness, emesis."

Shiraishi nodded worried. "Preeclampsia." Saejima's eyes widened, and they both stood up unconsiously, a behaviour they picked up at Lifesaving; staying put, in case somebody needed you.

"Yes."

"Alright, Haitani-sensei. Where is Fujikawa-sensei?"

"Another ambulance has brought a victim of a motorcycle accident with polytrauma to head and abdomen. Fujikawa-sensei has taken Yokomine-sensei along with him for assistance. No one of them is able to come help me for the time being. Yukimura-san and I are all alone."

Shiraishi nodded to herself. She looked to Saejima, but she didn't have to wait for her answer. Their feet were already heading towards Shiraishi's car.

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I hope you liked the beginning of the story! As for the medical vocabularay in this chapter, I would like to adress them in the next, as there will be a lot more of medical procedures. Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Here again, faint warning that there will be **detailed description about a serious health condition and surgery.** I hope you enjoy chaptre 2!

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 _"_

 _I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery."_ – Hippocrates, The Hippocratic Oath

Shiraishi and Saejima ran along the hallway towards the emergency room as fast as they could. The hallway was empty; it was nighttime after all. Shiraishi saw a nurse sitting with a man in his 30s next to the emergency room, visibly worried and terrified. The man looked up at her and his eyes widened as he saw the doctor's scrubs.  
He sprang up. "Please.", he said trembling. "My wife, please – " Shiraishi didn't waste a second to slow down. She bursted into the emergency room, Saejima behind her, making Haitani jump from the sudden commotion. The situation present seemed pretty miserable, and Shiraishi surpressed a groan.  
Haitani was struggling around, frantically trying to do everything at once. He looked at the monitor every few seconds, so fast he clearly was not even able to read the numbers. Yukimura shot him several annoyed glances, but Shiraishi and Saejima couldn't miss the look of distress on her face. Shiraishi put on gloves.

"Blood pressure.", said Shiraishi sternly. Yukimura answered.

"165/120. There has been an increase since the ambulance brought her."

"We already called for an obsetrician, but they currently have two women in labour. The patient was doing well, but now, she- she- "Haitani swallowed, glancing at Shiraishi. As the female doctor approached the patient, she realized that the woman was unnaturaly stiff. As she exerted pressure on the arm of the woman, she was certain. A tonic seizure.  
Haitani had told her the medical details over the phone when she promised they would come to help, and it had sounded like she was as stable as the situation could allow. But the health of both mother and child deteriorated. Fast.

Shiraishi freezed for a moment, thinking. Then the doctor in her kicked in. "She has an eclamptic seizure. Alright Haitani-sensei, phone the ob-gyn department again and report the situation." Haitani nodded and anxiously observed his senior, while the female doctor firmly held the arms of the woman to hold her in place.

Shiraishi noticed how the seizure stopped, and the eye lids of the woman fluttered. "Haitani-sensei, what's her name?", she asked urgently.

"Ah, Sato Aiko."

"Sato-san, can you hear me?", Shiraishi spoke loudly while pressing firmly against her shoulder. The eyes of the young woman fluttered more, she slightly moved, but she did not respond.

"Saejima-san, please help me bring her into a left lateral position." Saejima nodded, stepping on the other side of the woman. Both females looked at each other to turn the patient on cue.

"Yukimura-san, call for an operation room and for an anaesthesiologist.", Shiraishi ordered and helped steadying the woman in the right position.

"Yes."

"Haitani-sensei, control her breathing. If the oxigen saturation is low, get an Ambu bag."

"Yes." Haitani answered, quickly getting to the woman's head and controlling her breathing before pulling out the bag.

"Yukimura-san, control the maternal heartbeat. Saejima-san, is there a venous access?"

"I'm working on it.", answered the fllight nurse.

"Blood pressure has risen up to 175/128, heartbeat 125." Yukimura announced.

"Yukimura-san, switch places with Saejima-san. Please prepare a magnesium bolus, 4 ampules of magnesium-sulfate in 100 mililiters of sodium chloride over the next 15 to 20 minutes via the venous access." The flight nurse obliged and quickly showed the bolus to the doctor who controlled it and nodded.

"Shiraishi-sensei.", Yukimura came up to the doctor. "I rang up the telephone in the OR. It seems that both OP-Teams are busy as there has been a neurosurgical emergency. The anaesthesiologist is soon to be available, but – "

"We won't have an OP-Team.", Shiraishi continued and nodded, thinking. She glanced at Yukimura. "Have you told them that we need them for an emergency caesarean?"

"Yes, they said they will come as soon as their finished, but it can take another 20 minutes."

Shiraishi took the echo and tried to find the heartbeat. As she passed it over the left side of the women's lower belly, Yukimura called out before Shiraishi could lift her head. "Fetal heartbeat is bradycardic, 110 bpm."

"If the bradycardia persists for another five minutes, they won't make it until then. Prepare for an emergency c-section."

Saejima turned towards Yukimura. "Increase the temperature of the room. And make sure we have the Panda Warmer in here."

"Yes." Shiraishi signed Haitani to dress in a surgical gown and stepped closer to the woman on the table.

"Sato-san, can you hear me?", The young woman opened her eyes and nodded weakly.

Yukimura glanced at the monitor again and called out. "It's dropped, 100 bpm."

"Oh god", Haitani exclaimed, visibly terrified. His voice gained the attention of the woman, who suddenly glanced up to the young doctor. Her eyes widened when she took in her surroundings, and she pushed the Ambu bag away that Haitani was holding over her mouth and nose.

"Where -? What -?", she asked, trying to get up, but to no avail.

"Sato-san, please lay still. You are in Shohoku hospital. You had an eclamptic seizure."

"The baby?", the expectant mother asked frantically.

"It's alive."

"But… what did she - ?" The woman glanced over to the young nurse as Yukimura noticed another drop of the heartbeat on the monitor. But before she could speak, Shiraishi signed her to be silent.

"Sato-san, look at me." Shiraishi said, trying to hit a soothing tone. "The heartbeat of your baby has dropped. This happens almost everytime when the mother has an eclamptic seizure, so it's something we expect and prepare for when a mother suffers from eclampsia. However, we must pay attention to the time. If the heartbeat does not rise after five minutes, we have to perform an emergency caesarean. In your baby's case, it has been a little over three minutes."

The young woman looked at the doctor, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. Becoming clear about what's going to happen, she pleaded. "No, I don't want a ceasarean, this is not what we planned. My husband, where is he, he needs – " Shiraishi squeezed her shoulder.

"Sato-san. Both you and your baby are fighting hard, but eclampsia is dangerous complication. We want to prevent another seizure that could put you both in more danger. We can give you medication to decrease the risk of another seizure, but the only therapy to stop this is the delivery of your baby. With your blood pressure and the baby's heartbeat, I'm afraid it cannot wait." Shiraishi squeezed Sato-san's shoulder again. "I know you are afraid, and this is very sudden, but you are in very capable hands here, and we'll do our best."

The woman held Shiraishi's reassuring gaze, then looked to Saejima, who was standing next to her arm with the venous access, smiling confidently. She turned back to Shiraishi.

She nodded trembling. "Are you going to do it? Please, save my little girl! Please, just help her!"

Shiraishi stilled, unsure what to say. Her initiate reaction would have been to tell her that Haitani was the doctor on duty. Saejima was absentmindly rubbing her back, and Shiraishi felt her nausea creeping up again. They shouldn't be in the emergency room, let alone in an operating theatre.

But one look at the fellow and she knew her patient was going to have a hard time accepting that. Although Haitani had regained his composure, he looked unsure and nervous. He stood within a clear distance to the patient, worried to say something bad or something that might put her off.  
Yukimura tried to conceal her nervosity, which resulted in her usual stiff face. She stood next to Saejima, shooting occasional glances towards her senior nurse, as if she was not sure what they were going to do.  
Shiraishi recalled that Fujikawa was in a surgery that would take longer than ordinary procedures. And because it was already nighttime, the staff that was currently present in the hospital was reduced in each and every department. There was no one to supervise Haitani and Yukimura in this short time frame they had, and both had never done this on their own before. No one was here, no one except Shiraishi and Saejima.

The female doctor looked at Saejima. The flight nurse nodded. They were this woman's best option. Shiraishi looked back down to the young woman, grabbed her hand and squeezed it, then said: "Yes."

"She is sedated.", Haitani called out. Shiraishi, who was just finished shaving the woman's lower region for the cut, looked up and glanced at the other three.

"Then, let's start." Yukimura took over Haitani's place at Sato-san's head. "Haitani-sensei, cover the area with the surgical drape. Disinfect the area. We have to hurry, the fetal heartbeat doesn't seem to improve at all."

"Yes." He complied. Shiraishi helped Saejima slip into her surgical gown and proceeded to get one for herself. Putting on the surgical gloves, she took a deep breath. Her nausea was stronger again, she noticed the usual bitter taste in her mouth, and she felt like she might throw up in the next second. She quickly turned slightly away from the stretcher and tried to focus on one point in the wall on the other side. Yukimura noticed this.

"Is it really going to be alright?", she asked timidly.

"It has to be.", Shiraishi retorted, taking a deep breath, then stepping to the table. "Scalpel." Saejima handed her the knife, and Shiraishi performed a lower abdominal transverse incision, right above the mons pubis. Haitani dried of the little amount of blood from the cut with a sterile drape.

"Suction." Shiraishi ordered. Haitani complied. As soon as the operating field became more visible to Shiraishi, she put her hands into the cut, and expanded it. Haitani mirrored the procedure on his side. The tissues of the peritoneum and the muscle ripped, revealing the abdominal cavity.

"Retractor." Haitani called and Saejima handed him the broad shaped instrument. He positioned the retractor on the lower side of the cut, making sure the exposed blatter didn't come in the way, giving Shiraishi a clear view to the uterus.

Shiraishi performed a lateral hysterotomy. They expanded the cut again with their fingers, amniotic liquor spilling out of the cut. Haitani extracted it with suction again. He put it away, and their moves became more frantic yet still very precise, as Shiraishi knew they really had to get the little girl out. She removed the retractor and entered the uterus with her hand, pulling at the baby, and – after several seconds where they only heard the alarming beeping sounds of the monitors – she managed to pull the child out of the uterus.

Haitani glanced at the clock. "Time of birth: 10:34 pm." Yukimura nodded and wrote it down. Shiraishi rubbed the back of the baby softly, then quickly turned to Haitani. Her face is marred with a deep frown. One look at the child, and Haitani knew why. The little girl was very pale. Although a lot of newborns tended to have a blue-ish skin tone right after the delivery, the child had blue extremities and almost was motionless. Haitani gulped hard.

"She isn't breathing. Haitani-sensei, extract the placenta and look for remains in the uterus." Shiraishi lifted the still child up, bringing it to the Panda warmer and hyperventilated the baby girl.

"Come on, little girl, come on.", she said to herself. Haitani and Yukimura exchanged glances. Saejima watched the baby concerned before she turned back to the mother, and sterny reprimanded the other two to concentrate. Suddenly, they heard a little sobbing sound, one that made Shiraishi's shoulders sack down in relief. The little girl breathed, though irregular and flat, but she became rosier. Now that she had started breathing, the heartbeat rose too. Saejima didn't turn and calmy proceeded to give Haitani the instruments he needed, but she smiled.

The door to the emergency room swung open, and a very common voice called out: "Alright, what's going on here?" Saejima turned around. Hiyama was standing in the room, looking confidently from Haitani to Yukimura, before she finally noticed the other two females present in the room.

"Ha? Shiraishi? Saejima? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Hiyama-sensei.", Shiraishi called out in an urgent tone, and the obstetrician quickly appeared at her side.

"Baby girl, born 36th week of gestation in an emergency c-section after the mother suffered eclampsia. Heartbeat was bradycardic and dropped before the operation, she wasn't breathing for several minutes before you came here. Skin tone was very pale, almost blue, she showed some slight grimaces and light flextion of the extremities. First apgar score is 3."

Hiyama nodded and took her stethoscope. She listened to the heartbeat for a while, then turned to Shiraishi again. "Second apgar score is 5, but if we take the fact into account that she is a premature born baby, I'd say she gradually improved since you ventilated her. I'll take her up to the neonatal department for further observation. The man outside, is that the father?"

"Yes."

"What can I tell him about his wife's condition?"

"She still has a high blood pressure but she is stable now. Haitani extracted the placenta and we will proceed to close the abdomen."

"Alright. I'll take him up with me. Can I have Yukimura-san for the transport?" Shiraishi nodded, and Hiyama was just turning to the exit when she added: "You both owe me a _huge_ explanation." She smiled, then exited the emergency room, with Yukimura and the child on the Panda Warmer in tow.

Shiraishi let out a breath she didn't now she held in, and felt the nausea again, stronger than before. She turned her back to the table and focused on the heli sign on the computer, breathing slow and steady.

"Shiraishi-sensei, are you alright?", Haitani asked concerned. Shiraishi breathed again, then stepped back to the table.

"I am. New gloves please. And monocryl 2-0, please." Shiraishi looked at Haitani. "Let's close the abdomen."

Neurosurgeon Aizawa Kosaku stood in the operating theatre with an open skull in front of him. _Almost done,_ he thought to himself. He surpressed a heavy sigh. Not only had Fujikawa needed his assistance in an emergency operation on a motorcycle victim, the patient in the ICU just had to deteriorate with a cerebral haemorrhage while he was already busy. And to think it was only about 11 in the evening.  
He stared intensly at the brain in front of him, deliberately ignoring the occasional glances of his colleague from the neurosurgery department that was on duty with him. He was not in the mood for conversation, not when he thought about his wife every now and then, laying at home and possibly trying to sleep alone. Sleep had become a problem for her since her nausea had gotten so bad like it was now. But it may also be that she's still having a good time with Saejima, and that soothed his train of thoughts a little. But still.

He knew Shinkai could not help it to be sick on a night shift, but Aizawa really wanted to hit him for calling him out of all people. Though mainly, he was frustrated because he couldn't refuse it. The neurosurgery department was understaffed, and he had to take shifts when others were calling in sick or had to leave because of urgent private matters, and it ticked him off. He had looked forward to spend some time with Shiraishi alone, which usually comforted him very well after a stressful day in the hospital.

The door to the theatre swung open and an elder doctor entered.

"Ah, Tatsuki-sensei.", Aizawa adressed the anaesthesiologist. «Is Fujikawa-sensei's operation done?" The elder doctor nodded. "Everything is ok here. We're almost finished. Wasn't there an emergency c-section too that needed your assistance?"

"Ah, yes.", Tatsuki crossed his arms. "I visited the emergency room before. But the baby was already delivered."

Aizawa raised his eyebrows, not lifting his eyes from his patient's brain. "Haitani performed an emergency c-section alone?"

"No. He assisted Aizawa-sensei." Kosaku stopped dead in his track and looked up. "What did you say?"

"Your wife was the primary surgeon. I actually thought she is on leave, but seems I was misinformed." Tatsuki smiled. "Congratulations, Aizawa-sensei, the pregnancy becomes her well.", he added, totally oblivious.

Aizawa thought about that for a second, then turned back to his patient. "Ah.", he retorted.

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First of all, I'd like to say that I based this descriptions on researches I did on the internet and on experiences I picked up in the maternity ward. I'm not a trained midwife or obstetrician, so there are probably errors somewhere, and if you find any, I would be delighted to hear about them.

As for the some medical vocabulary mentioned in the two first chapters:

 **Hyperemesis gravidarum** \- Is a complication women can experience while pregnant and appears and often gets better after the 20th week of pregnancy, in rare cases however, it can last the whole pregnancy. It is known to be more severe than morning sickness. Symptoms are for example an ever present strong nausea and frequent vomiting. This complication should not be taken too easy since there is the risk of dehydration and losing weight. There are stationary treatments where pregnant women receive intravenous fluids to ease the symptoms.

 **Pre-eclamsia and Eclampsia** \- Are both severe complications a pregnant woman can experience before or while in labour. Pre-eclampsia, being the primary stage of eclampsia, presents itself through various symptoms as high blood pressure, proteins in the urine and edema, but also dizziness, head aches, etc. As Shiraishi says in this chapter, the only causal therapy is to terminate the pregnancy, here to deliver the baby.

Eclampsia on the other hand is a severe complication that results of Pre-eclampsia. Typical are eptileptic seizures. Treatment for epileptic seizures are anticonvulsants. The magnesium bolus I mentioned here comes from a managment sheet I found on the internet of one of our hospitals. Magnesium is used in pre-eclampsia and eclampsia because it is both antihypertensive (decreases the blood pressure) and anticonvulsant.

 **Panda Warmer -** I don't know if this device exists all over the world, I highly doubt it, but I did see that it exits in the US too so I decided to mention it. Basically, it's - as the name tells - a device that functions as a surface where you can put the newborn on and provide care and also as a warmer. REA equipment comes along with it and you are able to move the Panda. If you are interested in this I would advise you to look it up on the internet so that you get a picture of it.

 **Apgar score -** An apgar score allows a quick summary on the health condition of a newborn. The score ranges from 0 to 10, where there are two points distributed by five criteria: Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration. The system functions like this (as mentioned on wikipedia):

Appearance: skin color; 0= blue or pale, 1= blue at extremities, rosy at other body parts, 2= whole body rosy

Pulse: pulse rate; 0= no pulse, 1=100 beats per minute, 2= 100 beats per minute

Grimace: reflex irritability grimace: 0= no response to stimulation, 1= grimace on suction or aggressive stimulation, 2= cry on stimulation

Activity: 0= none, 1= some flexion, 2= flexed arms and legs that resist extension

Respiration: respiratory effect: 0= none, 1= weak, irregular, gasping, 2= strong robust cry

I'm sorry, the notes became a bit longer than I expected, but I hope I could give you an idea of what exactly is mentioned in this chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

So, this is the last piece to this story. To all those who read along, thank you very much, and I would be delighted to recieve reviews from you on how this story was good or not, what I could do better, etc.

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" _Whenever and however you give birth, your experience will impact your emotions, your mind, your body, and your spirit for the rest of your life."_ – Ina May Gaskin

Shiraishi sat near Sato Aiko's bed in the ICU and wrote down her notes in the medical history of the young woman's file. She leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes. The time span between the moment they had entered the emergency room and the delivery of the baby in a c-section was about 15 minutes long, but Shiraishi felt exhausted as if she had been on her feet all day. Saejima came up to her and took a seat. She put a can of coke in front of Shiraishi.

"Good job, tonight." She said smiling. Shiraishi nodded.

"Good job, too. How is your back doing?"

"It hurts terribly. But I'll get over it." Saejima glanced at the young mother. "I'm grateful we still know how to do it. I was worried we would freak out while having her on the table."

Shiraishi nodded. "It was a tough situation. But I am very glad I had a trained flight nurse and former OR-nurse with me." She grinned. Saejima laughed and took a sip of her tea.

Shiraishi opened her can and drank some coke. She didn't feel so sick anymore, but a dizziness creeped into her mind. Her empty stomach and an emergency operation didn't go along very well. She was thankful that Haitani had taken the post-operative observation in his own hands and was dealing with it quite well, not disrupting her peace with frequent questions. He had thanked Saejima and her endlessly for the help and had apologised quite so much. Shiraishi frowned.  
She would have to talk to him at some point; he had to learn how to deal with this kind of situations without calling her or any other doctor. What if she hadn't been within reach of the hospital? But she wouldn't bring it up tonight. Haitani seemed to be really concentrated on his patient and Shiraishi didn't have the motivation for this kind of talk at all. This evening didn't turn out the way she thought it would. Though – she grinned at that thought – she didn't mind having a little bit of action. Saejima was right; it was nice to know that they were still able to function in an emergency. And it was reassuring that people still valued their knowledge and help. Shiraishi unconciously laid her hand over her stomach. Under the wide scrub, it was hardly visible, but she knew there was a little human being growing inside of her, living within her, and she felt that her attention will be drawn more and more to that little human than to any other thing. Even Lifesaving came secondary.

"A girl."

Saejima glanced at her friend, raising her eyebrows. "Eh?"

"You asked me what it's going to be." Shiraishi smiled and rubbed her small belly affectionately. "It's a girl." Saejima smiled broadly back and nodded.

"You know, we are going to have – "

"Haruka!", Fujikawa exclaimed, hurrying down the hallway and startling both women and the night's peace. "What on earth are you doing here? You should be at home!"

"Calm down, everything's alright. We just wanted to help."

"But stress is poison for the baby! You could have fainted during the surgery!"

"I told you, I'm fine. And the baby's fine, too.", Saejima said, annoyed, and freed herself of his grasp. But Shiraishi could not help but to notice the loving smile that creeped over her features when Fujikawa wiped some of the sweat away from her forehead.

"Fujikawa-sensei really is a protective father." Shiraishi mocked. The orthopedic surgeon turned around and grinned broadly.

"That's right, I have to look after the two of them. I must nurture them very well. Our boy's going to be a handsome man like his father, ladies fainting over – "

Saejima lightly wacked him on the shoulder. "I told you to stop saying unnecessary things!"

Fujikawa winced. "Yes.", he answered.

"Shiraishi-sensei?", Haitani asked timidly. He nervously played with his fingers. Shiraishi looked at him.

"What is it?"

"Sato-san is awake. She would like to talk to you." Shiraishi nodded and stood up with a sigh, stretching her legs.

"Are you coming, too?" Saejima glanced at the young female doctor, astoundished.

"Eh?"

"Whatever she wants to talk about, I think we should meet with her together. This emergency needed the both of us to end well. I wouldn't have been able to operate with Haitani-sensei and Yukimura-san if you hadn't been there."

Saejima smiled, touched at the honest confession of her friend, and ignored Fujikawa's hand as she stood up. "Gladly."

Sato Aiko watched both women approaching her bed. Her eyelids were only half open, she was visibly tired from the operation and she felt very sore. The young doctor with the glasses had told her she would feel the aftermath of the seizure and the operation, and she was thankful for the pain killers that she received.

"Shiraishi-sensei.", she said hoarsely.

"Sato-san.", replied the female doctor and approached the bed, glancing quickly to the monitors. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." Sato-san's glance shifted between the female doctor and the nurse. "That young doctor told me you weren't supposed to be on duty and that he called you on your leave."

Shiraishi shot an annoyed glance in Haitani's direction, making the fellow wince. She bowed. "I am very sorry for the circumstances you had to go through. Our handling with this situation must seem very unprofessional to you. I can assure you this absolutely was an emergency and is fully against this hospital's guidelines, which is why I'd like to take full responsibility – "

Sato-san waved her hand dismissively. "Don't bother." She smiled reassuringly. "I didn't feel being looked after unprofessionally.", Sato-san said. Shiraishi listened attentively.  
"On the contrary. When I was transported out of the ambulance and into the emergency, I was terrified. My husband was at a loss of what he could do, we both understood the complications were severe, and neither the paramedics nor the young doctor wanted to tell me what was going to happen.  
They sent my husband out of the room with a nurse and looked after me. I couldn't count how many people were standing in the emergency, and I felt as if I was being passed around, everyone doing something to help me but no one telling me what's going to happen. I now think they were all afraid to tell me that I was going to have a ceasarean section, afraid of how I would react. " Sato-san looked to her belly that was still enlarged.

Shiraishi nodded, definitely deciding to bring this topic up again with Haitani and Yukimura. The way they had handled the patient was in no way acceptable, and she would make sure they knew that.

"I don't remember a lot of things about what happened after my seizure, I frankly do not remember anything.", Sato-san continued. "But I remember that somebody squeezed my shoulder, and somebody held my hand. The young doctor told me that you both were responsible for that. In a room full of medical personnel, you were the ones that didn't hesitate to touch me and telling me straight what I needed to know."

Shiraishi looked to Saejima. They indeed had tried to calm her down by touching her, holding her, and Shiraishi hadn't really realized that. It always came quite natural, because she was sure that she wanted somebody to hold her hand when she's the person laying on the stretcher. Saejima, and Shiraishi was sure of that, must have been reminded to the time when she collapsed, the cyanide outbreak and her miscarriage, where a holding hand could do so many things more than giving warmth.

"I didn't notice you both were pregnant, too." Sato-san remarked, and Shiraishi looked at her. She wanted to open her mouth, asking how she knew, as the baby bump of hers was hardly noticable, when Sato-san continued. "I don't know if you, as expectant mothers yourselves, understood me in a way a young bachelor doctor couldn't or if it was the instinct in you as doctor and nurse, but I want to thank you. I felt secure, because of you."

There was a silence between the three women as Sato-san's words reached the flight nurse and the doctor. A silence filled with a deep mutual understanding between them, as both women and mothers. Saejima and Shiraishi smiled at their patient; unsure what to reply to this, because there lay so many things in between these lines they simply could not express.

Sato-san was the one who started to talk again. She glanced at Saejima. "Excuse me, what is your name?"

The nurse seemed taken aback. "Ah, Saejima Haruka."

"Haruka.", Sato-san repeated, testing it aloud. "And what's your first name, Shiraishi-sensei?"

"Eh, Megumi." The young mother nodded thoughtfully and started to laugh when she saw the confused faces of the two women.

"Names for the list.", she explained. "My husband and I didn't have any idea what kind of name we would give her. We only had male names. And then each of us had one in mind and we discussed it over and over again, arguing which one was better. We never came to a decision, and when I felt unwell this evening and had to rush to the hospital, I simply thought we were too late.  
I thought, if anything happens, if my girl dies, I don't even have a name. I wouldn't know what to call her. I always thought that choosing the name was something very important. So important I didn't want to make a list, I wanted the name to come to my mind when I first saw her on the ultrasound, or when I looked at the baby belly in the mirror, or when I went shopping for baby clothes. I was so naïve.", she chuckled. "But she survived, and she is doing well, my husband is looking after her. He showed me her picture. She is so beautiful. I would really want to see her, and it makes me sad that I cannot just get up and walk to her. But I think this is the right time to start the list. I will start it now, and when I see her, I can hold her and call her by the name she deserves."

Shiraishi nodded, tears in her eyes, then she excused herself and quickly grabbed a clipboard and a white sheet of paper. "I am sure you'll find a great name to pick for her. We will be no longer disrupting you from doing so. Please rest well." She bowed and Saejima did the same before they left the young woman in her bed, writing down names that came to her mind, Haitani standing nearby and writing his notes into the computer.

Shiraishi walked back to her chair. The fatique and dizziness had been washed away, simply by listening to her patient. It was funny, really, what words could do, what compliments and praises could stand for in a doctor's life.  
Shiraishi noticed a tall figure standing next to Fujikawa and quickly met his eyes.

"Kosaku." She called him, grinning. Her husband leaned against the shelf behind him, crossing his arms in front of his chest, calmly watching her.

"What are you doing here?", he asked her. His tone didn't seem very different than when he talked to the fellows, and for a second Shiraishi thought he wanted to reprimand her. But then she looked into his eyes, these soft and concerned eyes that betrayed him, and smiled. It was a rhetoric question. He knew she would never decline help if Lifesaving calls for her. Aizawa reciprocated a smile by lifting the corners of his mouth a little upwards. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fujikawa and Saejima being in a very deep conversation about what he persumed to be Fujikawa's protectiveness over her and her affectionately mocking him. The neurosurgeon swiftly stepped closer to his wife, stroking her side with one hand.

"How are you feeling?"; he asked her in a low voice. Shiraishi shrugged.

"Actually, quite good. The nausea isn't so strong right now."

"Did you have to throw up?"

"Once after the operation.", she confessed, and when she saw his furrowed eyebrows, rapidly added: "But I drank something after that. And I managed to keep the dinner I had in my stomach for a while. It has been worse."

Aizawa nodded, letting his hand drift up towards her shoulder where he applied light pressure on the muscle, massaging it. She leaned into his touch, enjoying the warm feeling spreading through her whole body. It was uncommon for them to show affection in public, but they were slightly hidden behind Fujikawa and Saejima who were still engrossed in their discussion, while Yukimura and Haitani were staying with the patient.  
Shiraishi suddenly felt tired. She looked at the clock in the ICU. They had been here for about three hours already. How come it was already so late? Shiraishi noticed Saejima yawning and stretched herself.

"Well, then." She announced. "I guess I'll bring you home now, we had enough action for one day. Fujikawa-sensei, is this going to be okay, or do you still need help?"

Aizawa rolled his eyes, smirking, while Fujikawa only looked at her like watching a lunatic. "By all means, go home and rest. You shouldn't even be here at all."

Shiraishi heard a rustling sound in the living room and light creeped in through the slightly opened door to their bedroom. She didn't make a move, didn't make a sound. But she smiled. He was finally home. Soon enough, she noticed the door being opened and heard his footsteps on the floor, walking very careful not to wake her. He quickly discarded his clothes and dressed in his nightwear before he finally climbed into the bed, moving towards his wife. As his arm encircled her waist below the blanket, she lightly traced his hand's features with her fingertips.

"Good morning.", she wispered. He hummed and kissed her neck.

"Did I wake you?"

Shiraishi shook her head and turned so that she was facing him. "No, I have been awake for quite some time. How was it?"

"Awfully long and boring, since you left. There weren't any more emergencies and the patients slept well. I even managed to get some sleep in the on-call room. Boredom is not necessarily a bad thing after all.", he answered.

Shiraishi smiled. "That's nice to hear." She stretched her legs and snuggled closer to the neurosurgeon. "Did you do a CT scan on Sato-san along with Haitani?"

Aizawa nodded. "No further damage. She's going to be fine."

Shiraishi closed her eyes, feeling suddenly very relaxed next to him. "That's a relief."

"Were you worried?"

"Ah, well, it's nothing simple, having an eclamptic seizure. This is a serious complication."

Aizawa agreed. "Ah. All the more why Haitani shouldn't have called you."

Shiraishi lifted her head. "Eh?"

Aizawa propped himself up against the pillow behind him, still encircling Shiraishi's waist with his left arm, the right was laid behind her head around her shoulders to press her closer to him.

"This woman was in need of urgent medical attention. He was very lucky that you were within reach, otherwise no one would have made it in time. But by calling you, he made you carry the whole accountability all by yourselves. I know as well as Haitani that you wouldn't be able to refuse any cry for help, no matter where you are. Both you and Saejima have a strong sense of responsibility towards Lifesaving. Not only did he break several regulations at once, he put the both of you in danger too. There is a reason why you are supposed to be on leave."

Shiraishi furrowed her eyebrows. "Does this mean you talked to him about the matter?"

"Certainly. Haitani didn't think it through, not at all. He put Saejima and you under an immense pressure. Don't think that I don't believe you're not able to handle it, but your both in a delicate situation.", Aizawa stated matter-of-factly, but seeing her concerned face, he quickly continued: "I didn't yell at him. I reprimanded him, and repeated the regulations to him, but I didn't yell. I think he will have to deal enough with it when Tachibana comes up to him."

Shiraishi's eyes widened. She reached over to his side and turned on the little bedside lamp, engulfing the room in a weak light, enough to make out his features. She knew he didn't intend to frighten her, he wanted to be honest. Aizawa glanced towards his wife.

"Tachibana learnt about it in the rapport his morning." Aizawa's hand on her waist drifted towards her back, stroking it in an up-and-down manner. "Fujikawa phoned me before the end of the shift to tell me that Tachibana wanted to speak with the both of us. It seems that he has to report the matter to the investigative panel."

Shiraishi's face fell. "That means, Haitani – "

"Will not be blamed for the situation. They will probably blame him for violation of the guidelines, but since the patient is perfectly fine with the way that things turned out and even praised you, I highly doubt they will punish Haitani. There was no other senior he would have been able to call in this narrow time frame. You and Saejima are not going to be blamed either. You received the call, assessed the situation, and made up your decision based on the conclusion you came to. You are not to be responsible for the chaos, and Tachibana said he would make sure of that."

Shiraishi sighed relieved. She had been worried about the outcome of the whole fiasco. She knew the second she exited the emergency room that what she had done was a violation of this hospital's guidelines, regulations that the directorate held very dear. They had been lucky that the situation had ended well, or this would be a different matter entirely.

"But what does he want to discuss, then?"

"The possibility to have somebody on standby for emergency duties every night in several departments. I don't think I have to tell you what would have happened if the woman and her baby hadn't survived the eclampsia."

"The outcry in the media would be gigantic."

"Exactly." Aizawa tightened his grip around her, pressing her softly into his chest while his hand kept stroking her back. "Tachibana said he might call you at some point to talk it through with Saejima and you, as you both are probably the most reliable ones when it comes to explaining the whole situation. But he is glad how it turned out. He was very worried when he first learnt of it." Aizawa turned his head towards Shiraishi and met her gaze. "He told me I should hurry home and look after my wife." His mouth formed a small smile.

In the dim light, he could see her blush. "Ah, I see.", she answered, nodding a bit too fast. He chuckled. She would never change, not even in marriage. Shiraishi stayed the dense staff leader she was, clumsy when it came to personal emotions. He had to admit he liked this personality trait about her, since he found it endearing. It constantly told him that the person he knew for all those years was still there, no matter how old they would get, how many things they would experience. Shiraishi stayed by his side.

A warm touch on his neck interrupted his train of thoughts. He glanced down to her again to see her smiling up at him. She brushed her hand through the small strands of hair and eased herself out of his grip. Propping herself up on her ellbows, she reached for his face, stroking it with her other hand, before finding his lips in a long, sensual kiss. She capsured his lips firmly, demanding him to give her the lead. He chuckled against the soft lips of hers. One thing did change, after all. From time to time, she liked to take the lead.

"You seem to be very energetic today."

She hummed in response. "You seem to be quite talkative today. Being in the emergency has always done wonders." He couldn't help to silently agree on that. Both of them sought the kick of adrenaline, this was probably why she loved to work in Lifesaving while he preferred difficult surgeries over procedures he did on a daily basis.

She moved her hand from his cheek down towards his chest and grazed his skin with her fingernails until she reached his abdomen, tracing his palpable muscles. She met his gaze. He watched her silently, calmly observing what she did to him. She smiled innocently, waiting for a reaction from his side. His eyes shifted towards the small baby bump of hers. Normally, Shiraishi would wear wide shirts or blouses, so it was barely visible. Even the scrubs she had worn a few hours ago had hidden her belly almost entirely. The belly was almost nonexistent compared to Saejima's baby bump, even though there only was a time difference of six weeks between both pregnancies.

He reached out and touched the firm skin of Shiraishi's belly under her night shirt, stroking the small bump affectionately. He smiled. They had been told in one of the several controls that their girl was a bit smaller than others. Healthy and growing at her own speed, however slow. A delicate little human, yet strong, this is what he determined when he saw her moving and stretching her arms and legs in the ultrasound, when Shiraishi placed his hand on her belly, telling him that the little one was probably having a hiccup again, and he tried to feel it. She was there, constantly growing.

Shiraishi laid a hand over his, lacing his fingers with hers. She glanced at him again, her cheeks flushed, her smile warm, and he sat up, turning the both of them around so that he was hovering over her. Their lips met again, slow and steady, building a rhythym, moving in synch. He slowly pulled apart. Shiraishi's glanced up at him through half lidded eyes, slightly blushing. She cuddled herself against him when he laid down next to her and turned off the light.

"To be honest.", she began while stroking his arm that lightly resting on her stomach. "I didn't mind that Haitani called me. I was frustrated at first; I thought that he, after all this time, was not able to do it on his own. When I came into the emergency, all I saw was a frantic doctor with an anxious nurse. I was also angry that he called the both of us, that we had to deal with this. But – ", Shiraishi struggled to continue, unsure what to say. Aizawa nodded for a second, then answered:

" 'Because I, as a mother, would want the kind of professionals that are able to tell me the ugly truth and are going out of their ways to save people' ?"

Shiraishi widened her eyes, astoundished. "Eh?"

Aizawa nodded again. "I heard you talking. But I didn't want to interrupt you."

Shiraishi thought about it again. Back then, she had not been able to say anything to agree or disagree to the patient's statement. But as soon as she had turned on her heels, as soon as her gaze had fallen on Saejima, she knew that the woman was quite right.

"In a situation like this.", she began. " If it had been Yokomine or Natori, it might have ended badly. Yokomine, probably having the right idea about treatment, wouldn't have dared to call me and Natori would have reacted the way he does under pressure; impulsive and very self-confident, but lacking the experience he'd need to succeed. Haitani noticed the woman's condition, the foreboding signs, and he called the right person that could be available at the right time. To me, it doesn't matter that he broke the regulations. I know he will call himself responsible for that and sincerely apologise. To me, he handled the situation the best way that was even feasible, and I am grateful for that.  
Not just as his superior, but as a mother. I would want to have this doctor with me, someone who knows the signs and his own limits and doesn't hesitate to call for a senior instinctively."

Aizawa listened to her for a moment, remaining silent. "Ah.", he finally said, a small smirk on his face. Shiraishi looked at her husband, and her gaze remained within these faithful eyes of his, eyes that told her he understood. It didn't matter that she had based the decision of performing a difficult surgery herself on her motherly instincts. It didn't matter that she broke the regulation either.  
She was a mother, and that meant that she would see the world with different eyes. His understanding look was everything she needed to know why she wanted to tell him. Shiraishi noticed how he struggled to keep his eyes open, and looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was already half past 8.

"Good night.", she wispered and pulled the blanket up higher. He just hummed, holding her close to his chest, when they heard a vibrating sound coming from Shiraishi's phone. Both freezed. They didn't say anything, yet they thought the same thing. Don't tell me…, Shiraishi thought, grabbing the phone and unlocking the screen.

A message popped open on her homescreen.

 _Shiraishi!_

 _I knew it, you couldn't stay away from Lifesaving for long, couldn't you?_

 _Anyway, I wanted to tell you that the baby is doing fine, they will hand her to the mother  
for a short while after lunchtime. I came looking for you, but aparently we missed each other.  
I'm free today, so I'm coming over for some tea later in the afternoon. You absolutely must tell me what happened. _

_Alright, gotta go, see you later, mama!_

 _Hiyama_

Shiraishi chuckled. Hiyama would probably call her if she does not respond to the message, and even turn up uninvited in the afternoon if she didn't reply at all. Yet, Shiraishi looked forward to see the obstetrician. She turned towards Aizawa, opening her mouth to say something, and finding him sound asleep next to her. He must have been really tired, she thought and quietly put the phone back on her bedside table.  
I can always write her back once I wake up again, she mused, making herself comfortable. And if she would actually turn up uninvited in the afternoon, then Shiraishi would gradually accept it.

It wasn't like she planned to pull another stunt like she did the night before.


End file.
